LONGMONT -- People sang and danced along to the live music. They conversed, staying out into the wee hours of the night, drinking and having fun. No one cared that alcohol was against the law in the Chicago speakeasies of the Roaring Twenties.

Prohibition was passed in 1919 and was intended to end the consumption of alcohol, but an unintended result was the birth of the speakeasy, a secret bar where people could escape to drink and have a good time.

This week, Longmont residents will be able to step through a purple front door and back in time when Sarah Carrillo opens the doors of The Speakeasy to the public.

The Speakeasy, at 301 Main St., will open later this week after months of hard work have been put in grinding and leveling the concrete floors and removing decades worth of dirt and grime from every inch of the underground space. Newly installed chandeliers and mirrors enhance its vintage quality.

A stone flight of stairs leads from the street to the eye-catching purple door, which opens to reveal the main room that houses the bar and featuring purple couches. Farther ahead, the long, narrow "Shotgun Room" is capped at the end by the stage. Most of the original wood flooring has been painstakingly restored, and the 2-foot-thick stone walls of the 1870s-era building ensure the music will not bother people playing pool in the adjacent game room.

Sarah Carrillo, the owner of The Speakeasy, 301 Main St., modeled her establishment after the secret bars of the Prohibition era.
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LEWIS GEYER
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Local artist Gamma Acosta has painted a striking 3-D mural on one wall that features dancing flappers and dewdroppers from the '20s and makes the room seem nearly twice as large.

Carrillo went further than simply changing the furnishings in aiming to create an authentic feel for her Speakeasy.

"I'm emulating that '20s and '30s Prohibition Era," Carrillo said. "I'm encouraging my friends on Facebook to come in and dress the part."

Being a musical person, Carrillo plans live performances for nearly every night of the week. People can show up on Tuesdays and Thursdays to sing karaoke, and on Fridays and Saturdays they can dance to live blues and jazz. Carrillo also plans on hosting comedy, spoken word and occasional burlesque shows.

Friday night, Longmont's Mojomama will christen the stage. Expect a dress code and a small cover charge on weekend nights, Carrillo said.

Carrillo moved to Colorado from Kenosha, Wis., when she was 20. She tended bar for several years and, after her parents died, she decided she wanted to open her own place.

"I had the theme, I wanted to do the '20s or '30s, but I didn't even know what a speakeasy was," Carrillo said.

When she saw the "for rent" sign on the basement of the old Imperial Hotel, she knew she had found her venue. In doing research on the building -- and on Longmont-- she discovered the city was founded by members of the Chicago-Colorado Colony. (Chicago was where her family would go when she was young to experience big city life.)

"The whole speakeasy thing is pretty cool; I didn't realize how big of a thing it was," she said. "The original speakeasies started in New York and Chicago. That's how I got the name, just in doing research for this building."

She signed a lease last March and, with the help of some friends, got to work on cleaning the place.

"We've done a lot of work in here, a lot of blood, sweat and tears," Carrillo said.

She even took the time to shovel dirt from the secret passageway that runs along the backside of the walls of the bar. In the Prohibition Era, that passageway could have been used to escape if the cops showed up.

For now, Carrillo is happy her hard work has paid off. She is more than a little bit excited to get customers in.

"I could have bought a brand-new Escalade or I could have put all my money into something like this," Carrillo said. "My grandma's 90 years old and she still loves to dance. She can't wait to come down here and cut a rug."

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